Juergensmeyer offers a cultural and ideological analysis of the emergence of global religious violence that is today championed by communities that foster "cultures of violence" and terror. Chapter-length journalistic case studies explore Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Sikh, and Aum Shinrikyo religious terrorism. The author interprets religiously motivated acts of mind-numbing violence that lack a clear military objective as theater, especially timed, scripted, and staged against the symbols of political or financial power such as The World Trade Center or The Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. True believers wage a cosmic war as a defense of the faith where defeat is unthinkable. They adopt rites of violence and commit themselves to heroic acts of martyrdom and the destruction of their demonized enemies. The chapter "Warrior Power" employs a psychoanalytic view of terrorist careers as a means to symbolic empowerment for groups of marginalized young men who face uncertain paths to manhood, sexual identity, and conventional lives. This books offers chilling insight into the worldview of disparate cultures of religious violence, the inevitability of such cosmic battles, and the unending fanaticism of true believers. The author's conclusion, however, fails to persuade that new forms of religion may arise to cure religious violence. All levels.

The author has done a good job with this topic and his research and interviews are extensive. There is broad coverage of religious violence in all of the major faiths as well as a good discussion of why people are attracted to the irrationality of religious mass movements. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the end in which the author states in a cursory fashion that religion elevates the moral and spiritual values of public life. In fairness, the author does not explore this topic, but on the other hand, since he provides no support for this proposition, I don't think he should have stated it. This issue is the subject of a lot of debate and personally, I believe that religion has consistently impeded moral progress. But, overall, despite this criticism, the book is a good read.

I highly recommend this book to everyone because of its relevance to current global religious violence. This book offers chilling insight into the intimate relationship between religion and violence. The author analyzes terrorist groups from a psychological and cultural perspective. His countless case studies and personal interviews with violence perpetrators clearly depict the religious extremists' cosmic struggle against secular government. In defense of their faith, true believers perform horrific acts of violence against symbols of political and financial power, acts that are supported and justified by their religious ideologies. Ironically, they view their acts of violence not as attacks, but as responses to the enemy's oppression.

Case studies are worldwide and run the gamut from the atrocities performed during the Nine Crusades in 1095 up until the bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. The chapter 'Reaching the Audience' illustrates that without an audience, terrorism would not exist. In the last decade of the twentieth century, religious terrorism has become global in two senses. The choices of terrorist targets have been transnational. For example, the Egyptians and Palestinians bombed the World Trade Center in New York City to protest against secular governments in the Middle East. Furthermore, the incidents have had global impact in large part due to the worldwide, instantaneous coverage by transnational news media. The global dimensions of terrorism's organization make it so powerful that even the United Nations is not equipped to deal with worldwide terrorism. A consortia of nations has come together to deal with forces of violence on an international scale.

This is a book of substance, and the author should be commended for his excellence in providing such a complete in depth look into the world of religious violence. The author's conclusion, however, fails to persuade that the cure for religious violence may ultimately lie in religion itself.

I'm using this book for my first college physics course. I find the text very dry and boring, and the problems at the end of each chapter are confusing and not well explained. For example, I'm doing my homework and one of the problems is "speculate on how gaseous diffusion works." Just that, does not explain what gaseous diffusion is. As with many of the problems in this book, the first thing that comes into my mind is "what the hell are you talking about??" Another question asks me to compare the length of something to "the diameter of a molecule." Huh? What molecule? Are all molecules the same diameter? And how the heck am I supposed to know what that diameter is? Gah. I do not recommend this book unless you like being confused.

Also, the discussion questions at the end of each chapter are very nice, but the answers are not provided anywhere. So how are you supposed to know if you answered them correctly? And another thing I really hate about this book, it will say "and why do you think this happens?" and then not tell you why. About 90% of the time my answer is "I have no clue why that happened." :/ This book makes me hate physics.

This book is very well organized. I especially appreciated the "problem-solving strategy" snippets, which were very helpful. All the diagrams are very clear. The problems are written well; i.e., the reader can understand what the problem is asking. Lastly, there is so much physics in this book! There is enough physics for two full years.

I've used both this book and Halliday's Extended 6th edition for my course on Physics. My conclusion, chapter after chapter, has been clear to me: this is the perfect book for a general course on Physics at university level. The language is simple to understand (Halliday too), the figures and tables are well done and useful (Halliday too), the content is thorough (Halliday: not so much !). Yes, this last is the striking thing: it's thorough and reaches a level of detail that is not a common feature for these kind of Physics books.
The problems set is well balanced both in content and number (an average of 85-90 for each chapter), and as usual odd-numbered problems' solutions are provided.
I've tried this book without anybody advising it to me, now I'm happy I've had it for the exam.

Some of the recipes are easy biscuits which Droopy likes. Many are meals like pasta, etc. It's an interesting book but it gets major negative doggie points for including recipes with raisins -- grapes are toxic to dogs.

I am also not sure I trust other aspects of their recipe development. I made pineapple cookies which Droopy did enjoy eating, but I tried giving him a plain pineapple and he would not touch it -- does this mean I'm buying a can of pineapple for the recipe just because it makes it seem more tasty to the humans making it?

Some are also no brainers, e.g., turkey burgers. Well yes, dogs are going to like eating turkey burgers but they also like the hamburger sitting on your plate, too, and I didn't need to buy a dog cookbook for that.

That said, the recipes I've tried so far have impressed Droopy's pals, so that's why I'm not giving this a rock bottom rating.

I am a real dog lover the kind that treats my dog as my child,( and reallly is my child) I started making treats about 6 months ago grabbing reciepes off the internet , but The three dog reciepes are the best ! I was only able to find a few Three dog treats, I had to get the book , If you want to bond with you pet spend a sunday afternoon in the kitchen baking away, and let your partener , taste away, I bake so many treats I share with co workers and the dog park, all the dogs give 5 paws for three dog recipes , They never add salt or sugar which Is what I like. Shadow , says woff woff ,

Although i have yet to try all of the recipes in this book, the ones that i have tried have more than gone over well. at times, while cooking, i had to stop and remind myself that i was not cooking a dinner for myself, but for my dogs. (the recipes are that good) Although a little bland for human consumption, a definite hit amongst canine companions. These are safe, healthy alternatives to the same old dry dog food every night. A must for dog lovers.

ASAD's useless GUINNESS records (my fav's)

1) HEAVIEST NEWBORN
The heaviest viable baby on record of normal parentage was a boy of 22 lb 8 oz born to Signora Carmelina Fedele of Aversa, Italy, in Sept 1955.

2) GREATEST WEIGHT DIFFERENTIAL
The greatest recorded for a married couple is 922 lb in the case of Mills Darden (1020 lb) of North Carolina and his wife Mary (98 lb). Despite her diminutiveness, however, Mrs. Darden bore her husband three children before her death in 1837.

3) WORST TONGUE TWISTER:
The most difficult tongue-twister is deemed by Ken Parkin of Teesside, England, to be "The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" - especially when spoken quickly.

4) EARLIEST MAN
The greatest age attributed to fossils of the genus "Homo" is for the remains of 8 adults and 3 children discovered in the summer of 1975 at Laetolil, Tanzania, by Dr. Mary Leakey, and dated by the University of Calif at Berkeley to between 3,350,000 and 3,750,000 B.C..

5) MOST REJECTIONS (AUTHOR):
The greatest recorded number of publisher's rejections for a manuscript is 137 for "One Man Versus the Establishment" by William E. E. Owens of Street, Somerset, England.

6) MOST CHILDREN (by one women)
The greatest officially recorded number of children produced by a mother is 69 by the first of the 2 wives of Feodor Vassilyev (b 1707-fl. 1782), a peasant from Shuya, 150 miles east of Moscow. In 27 confinements she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets. The children, were born in the period c. 1725-1765.

7) RAREST DISEASE
Kuru, or laughing sickness, afflicts only the Fore tribe of eastern New Guinea and is 100% fatal. This was formally attributed to the cannibalistic practice of eating human brains.

8) 100 x 1 MILE RELAY (MEN)
The record for 100 miles by 100 runners belonging to one team is 7 hours 56 min 55.6 sec (4:46 avg/runner) by Shore Athletic Club of New Jersey, on June 5, 1977.

(...)

I enjoy all the interesting records held. I watch the T.V. program as well, I am amazed at what odd and dangerous hobbies people aquire. ( I have a collection of chicken wishbones I have been collecting for about four years. I have approx. 800 ) Will this get me in the Guiness Book?

Very good book for teenagers. Fun and intresting to read. A must hav

I've read all three of Mark Graham historical Philidelphia mysteries. I enjoy his stories. His research is actually quite remarkable, and it gives the reader an insight into the past that they may not have had. This book does that very well with the Centennial World Fair in Philidelphia. It does make you sad that all that grandeur is gone, especially after what was spent. It also gave me an insight into what World Fairs were like in their heydey. Graham's writing though is rather simplistic. This makes for quick reading of the book, and somehow the dialect and way of speaking didn't ring true with me for the era. Also, where did the title come from? The title really had no reference to the story at all. The mystery was pretty good, although I had figured out the guilty one by about 1/3 of the way through the book. But I still enjoyed the story and the sense of history that Mr. Graham instills. That's why I gave this book a higher rating than the grammar and writing skills warranted. I disagree with one of the previous reviewers viewpoints that if you really want "the smell and stink of the open sewers, read Anne Perry". I have read all Ms. Perry's books and I enjoy them immensely, but Mr. Graham's novels do really give that sense of time and place just like Ms. Perry's. His extensive research helps him achieve this. But if you really want the smell and stink, as well as the sense of place, correct grammar and syntax, I highly recommend Peter Lovesey's Cribb and Thackery novels. They're the best I've read on this era.

Black Maria pulled me in when reading the back of the book and the descriptions of Philadelphia in the midst of the Centennial kept me going however, the plot waxed and waned. I went from being engrossed in the mystery to skimming pages at a time.

I would have given the plot around 3 stars but the research involved was excellent and the book really made you feel as though you were wandering around the streets of the Centennial with Detective Wilton McCleary and his pal Tad. Det. McCleary has had it rough, apparently in the first two novels the reader learns this. As I had not read either it took me a few pages to learn his past but Mark Graham does a good job summarizing for us without making it feel as though that is what he is doing as he scatters the past throughout the novel.

McCleary is relegated to the task of policing Shantytown, the run down slum area of Philly and bringing the swells in for a good time. It is on one of these runs that McCleary discovers the body of a dead girl and is drawn in as the police quickly try to dismiss the death. McCleary is not satisfied with the reasons they are giving him for trying to cover the brutal murder up so he starts his own investigation.

Through his search, McCleary meets the King family, Hiram is a wealthy man that no one likes to cross, his son David, a cub reporter who accompanies McCleary on a run through Shantytown and his daughter Elsie, the unhinged beauty.

The reader follow McCleary through the opium dens and freak shows to the Centennial to try to discover a killer. While this book did not keep me entirely enthralled it will be enjoyable to many fans of Graham or readers who like historical mysteries. Personally, I would recommend The Alienist and Scarlet Women to readers who want a good historical mystery.

Mark Graham is creating a new genre, and the Black Maria is an outstanding example. His complex hero, Wilton McCleary, solves a murder and confronts the darkness of his own soul at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. As in Graham's previous books, The Killing Breed and the Edgar nominated Resurrectionist, the historical detail is impeccable. It's not a shoot-em-up.It requires an attention span, but it's a great read for the intelligent reader, and the story builds toward an absolutely gripping conclusion

As a first time parent I bought *every* book out there that was labeled "interactive and "developmental" - I could've saved all my time and money had I just discovered "Wonderplay" first!

It is by far THE BEST book out there! It's ideas come from a Parenting Center in New York which is what sets this book apart from others - these authors know FIRST HAND that these ideas WORK!

The layout is great - starts with play with Children of All Ages, moves to Birth to Six Months, Six to Twelve Months, One-Year-Olds, Two-Year-Olds and lastly Three-Year-Olds. The ideas that they list are all age appropriate, quick, easy and inexpensive!

A MUST HAVE FOR FIRST TIME PARENTS!!

I recently bought this book to find new games to play with my 16 month old son, as an alternative to TV. It has been wonderful! Not only do we use the one year old section, sometimes I find things in the sections for younger or older children as well. I am looking forward to the arrival of my second child in October so I can try some of the activities for infants with him/her.

Wonderplay is a very useful and creative resource for parents. I am very impressed with the amount of crafts and games for the very young-- birth through two years of age. The book incorporates songs, games, play ideas, sing-a-longs,and crafts. The format is very easy to read, and it is also extremely easy if you want to find a quick activity or song if you have only one or two minutes to do so-- or as in my case many times-- a nursing or sleeping infant in my arms! I found it funny that it is sometimes hard to remember all the old nursery rhymes, fingerplays, and games of childhood. This book has some old favorites, plus many great new ones. We have been the type of parents who want to stimulate our son, yet not be too pushy. The Wonderplay book has been a great reference for us.

I feel that this book is Mr. Wiley's personal view on the Filipino Martial Arts. The history in this book is far from valid. The information is presented in a way to support his perception on the Filipino Martial Culture. Written history about the Philippines is distorted or deleted in order to provide the reader with an accurate perception of his fictional writings.

Mr. Wiley seems to view his findings as paramount in contrast to findings by other respectable Filipino authors which he labeled as "often contradictory." He goes further to insult Placido Yambao's, Karunungan Sa Larong Arnis as being "obscure" along with other contemporary authors in which he states, "have little or no training in practical and generally accepted research methods." Comments like these destroy the author's credibility.

While reading this book I felt very upset. This book tarnished the history of countless Filipino warriors who preserved, developed and passed the Filipino arts down to us. Their history is being portrayed and altered by an author's personal perception. With this book, their true history is erased like words on a notepad. They are then filled in with bias views, in a book that claims to be "scholarly."

I hope that the reader keeps an open mind while reading this book. Seek out other sources on this topic as well. This way the reader can broaden their perspective and not become limited to the information presented in Mr. Wiley's book.

While I wish this book had the same relentless scholarly execution as Don Draeger's work (and I can think of very few even comparable for any art) on Indonesian arts, this becomes an even more difficult book to review because this is in reality more than one book: it is a book on Wiley's theories of the development of Filipino Martial Culture and a book which documents the oral history of FMA masters he has met in the Philippines and America (which I presume helped shape his conclusions).

"Filipino Martial Culture" works for me because it represents an effort to document the efforts of some well-known, some less-known, but no less significant figures in the Filipino Martial Arts community. Most students of eskrima, kali, arnis, etc. (like myself) are starved for information on the masters of the FMA. I suppose that is why I appreciate this book, because it makes the effort.

While this book may be controversial for its conclusions, biases, etc. and its emphasis on some masters over others, it does attempt to tell the story of the FMA through the voices of the people themselves. It is definitely not the final word and anybody interested in exploring should seek out books by Cabiero, Canete, Draeger, Imada, Inosanto, Presas, Sulite, and others to supplement their research in Southeast Asian fighting arts.

There are so few trustworthy English-language books on the Filipino martial arts that the publication of a new one is a landmark. And when such a competent and respected practitioner as Mark V. Wiley produces it, then the occasion is one to be savoured.There have been many technical manuals on eskrima, arnis, and kali, and the library shelves are well stocked with them. Even so, there has always been a need for well-researched scholarly material relating to the history and culture of the Filipino arts. Unfortunately, such works are rare--as incidentally, are the people capable of writing them. Mark V. Wiley is an exception and this book has surpassed all my expectations. I've no doubt it will become the standard reference on the martial arts of the Philippines.The book is comprehensive and covers the history of turbulence and war in the Philippines from pre-historic times to the present day. It also examines the culture from which arises Filipino martial arts, the spirituality, folklore, and weaponry, plus biographical sketches of 18 Filipino masters, and descriptions of their respective fighting styles, and a comparative study of the ethos, ideology, and development of the Filipino martial arts in relation to the traditions of India, China, and Japan.Wiley also addresses the many misconceptions which surround the Filipino martial arts, informing us firstly that the terms kali, eskrima, and arnis are not synonimous and do not represent the same art. Kali did not exist during the pre-Spanish times. Then he tells us that not all Filipino arts are based on weapons training--in fact, there are quite a few strictly empty-hand arts.These statements are based on solid historical research. I recommend this book to serious martial artists, whilst for all practitioners of the Filipino martial arts, it is an absolute must!

I liked this book very much. It explores surviving WWII from a different perspective than I've read before. The reader empathizes with both the German and the Holocaust survivor. Rather than dwell on the horrors of their experiences, the book describes their emotional adaptation. I found the writing style awkward at times, especially the author's presence, however, it provides an easy way to incorporate a modern viewpoint and historic context. It is a fairly quick read and very captivating. I don't think the book has received the attention it deserves. It was interesting to read The Mark of the Angel immediately after finishing After Long Silence (Fremont) and Homestead (Lippi). After Long Silence is about people who have buried their experiences during the Holocaust completely -- after passing as Catholic for many years, their daughters force the truth (that they are Jewish) into the open. The book goes into detail about the parents' stories and the emotional effects of exposing the truth. War plays more of a background role in Homestead, which tells the story of multiple generations of women living in rural Austria, but the effects of war clearly mark the characters. Homestead was definitely my favorite of the three books -- it is incredibly beautifully crafted. Some of the stories told and pictures of the landscape will stay with me for a long time.

A story of forbidden love in post-war Paris between two people damaged in different ways by the Holocaust--you've read it before. But Huston's book is a cut above--beautifully written from multiple perspectives, Huston describes Paris, love, music and above all, anger and shock over infidelity discovered, so strongly and vividly--this one has stayed in my mind for awhile. And the conclusion was a brutal shock! Of particular interest to me was the backdrop of the French--Algerian issues--as England had India, France had Algeria--a painful, shameful episode in the history of a Western democracy that has permanently marred France's conception of itself.

The setting of 'The Mark of the Angel' is in Paris, 1957. It's a story of two people from different backgrounds (she is German, he is French) who meet and marry. But the recent past of World War II and the current rising violence, which eventually leads to the independence of Algeria, shape the attitude of these two characters into a disastrous climax.

The seemingly simple style of this story could make some readers believe that it's just a 'pulp romance' novel -- there are, however, layers of psychological levels to the characters and a complexity in the way setting and storyline are entwined together that make this novel far from being simplistic or a 'pulp romance' novel. Saffie, the female protagonist, is a difficult character to read -- and agreeably unpleasant at times -- and that's why makes the story even more intriguing; we are not dealing with nice and 'normal' cardboard cut-out characters, where everything is beautiful and everyone holds hands at the end of the story.

This book is not a lovely love story, but a character study on how war tears down the fabric of human nature, how it effects everyone for years to come, even for genertations to come -- it a story about confusion, betrayal, jealousy and revenge. Nancy Huston has done a wonderful at showing how difficult it can be to deal with the world around us, and how sometimes human behaviour can be misinterpreted by those who live in a protected world.

'The Mark of the Angel' is a disturbing tale of passion and survival, which makes the reader reflect on the humand condition long after the book has been read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The authors must certainly be experienced in building and the various trades but this book just didn't help me at all. A total flop for me, really. The book to get for the first time Owner-Builder is the Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home, by McGuerty & Lester. A wonderful step-by-step guide with TONS of useful information.

When it came down to owner-building my house, I purchased a whole slew of books hoping that all of them together would help. I found the Owner-builder Book to be the only book that did. I carried it with me everywhere and it came through for me time and time again. I learned many valuable lessons that I've carried on into my everyday life as well- one of which is "Plan, Plan, Plan". I've found that what he says is true, that for "every hour you spend planning, saves 4 hours in execution". This book is everything I was looking for and more!

Love this book! I have other books on owner-building but this is the one I carry with me in case I have a few minutes to read. The authors recommend a year of planning, trying to do it in a few weeks or months is a crash course so it's truly nice to have found such a great study guide. (it would be less stressful to spend a year!) Financially very inspiring, tells how to save a fortune by doing a great job of managing the home building project, and also how to make a life's fortune owner-building. Tips for getting the Owner-builder construction loan. Also has an extensive list of similar books by other authors; the Smiths don't presume to be the end all/be all in DIY contracting, which I find very refreshing. Very useful book, a real gem.